


One Fork, Two Forks

by ChillenSnart



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canonical Character Death, Firewatch au, I'm really bad at tagging, M/M, Slow Burn, and by that I mean Jonas, ha, just in case, so I have no idea what else to add
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:31:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9675038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillenSnart/pseuds/ChillenSnart
Summary: Mick takes a summer job in Wyoming as a fire lookout, nothing goes as he expects it to.Or the Firewatch AU no one asked for, but I wrote anyways





	

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fic in two years, the only writing I've done lately is roleplays. I sure hope it's not too bad, ahhhhh. ENJOY!

The hike itself isn’t all bad, the heat is refreshing after a long winter and a cold spring. The air is crisp and clear, making it easy to just breath in everything around him. It’s the hottest peak of the day, the time every other hiker would be complaining about, trying to find shade to hide under. Not him, though. Mick loves the heat, even when it’s blistering and suffocating. Even when it licked at his skin, boiling and scarring it up.

Mick isn’t quite sure how he managed to get this job, but he isn’t about to complain. People in charge was probably being stupid, didn’t do a more thorough background check. Otherwise, there is no way they’d let a pyromaniac be on fire lookout. Mick just got lucky.

It’s still quite a ways from the tower, looming in the distance. He estimates it will take the rest of the day and a bit of the evening before he arrives. There isn’t much else for him to do other than look at trees and the occasional stream along the way. Better get going, he doesn't want to have to set up camp again.

He’s exhausted by the time he reaches the top of the tower, the stairs the last hurdle of his hike. The sky had turned dark a few hours ago, the air getting chillier with each step. He just wants to flop down onto the bed and let himself sleep for a full day.

“ _Hello, Two Forks Tower._ ” A male voice pipes up, slightly static-y and with a slow drawl to it.

Mick stares at the small, yellow walkie-talkie radio sitting on the desk, charging. He frowns and narrows his eyes at it, wondering if whoever speaking will go away if he ignores it.

“ _Hello? Mick Rory?_ ”

Mick picks it up, examining and trying to find an off button for it. Maybe he can just pull the battery out.

“ _My name is Leonard Snart-_ ”

“Yeah, I know.” He interrupts, distantly remembering that he heard the name during orientation at some point.

“ _Oh good, he speaks!_ ” Snart says, heavy with sarcasm. “S _o what’s wrong with you?_ ”

“What?”

“ _No one in their right mind comes out here, so what’s wrong with you?_ ”

“‘S none of your fuckin’ business.”

“ _Aww._ ” Snart mocks and Mick can practically hear the smirk in his voice. “ _Someone’s grumpy._ ”

“What’s wrong with _you_?” Mick shoots back with a snarl.

“ _Oh! That’s a great idea, go ahead._ ”

“What?”

“ _Take a guess, what’s wrong with me?_ ”

“I fuckin’ hiked for two days, I just wanna sleep, okay?” Mick sighs, sitting on the small bed and slumping down.

“ _C’mon. Five more minutes, that’s all. Go ahead._ ”

“You pissed off the mafia so now you’re hidin’ out here.”

Snart laughs for a full minute, “ _I wish_.”

“Right, g’night, then.” Mick yawns, laying his body down. He doesn’t exactly fit, the bed a little too small for someone of his stature, but it’s softer than the floor, so he can’t complain too much.

“ _Wait, now it’s my turn._ ”

“Good. Night.”

“ _Let’s see, I know nothing about you. You’re not an axe murderer, are you?_ ”

Mick ignores him, yawning again and closing his eyes. “ _Mick?_ ” He starts to drift, hand loosening around the radio until it drops to the floor with a thump. “ _Heh. Good night, Mick._ ”

* * *

  **DAY 1**

“ _Good morning, Mick!_ ” Snart’s voice was overly cheerful as Mick grumbles his way to a meal in the tiny kitchen of the tower. “ _Or afternoon, you almost slept the whole day away._ ” Good, he needed that sleep.

“ _There’s still some daylight hours left, so I hope you’re ready for your first job!_ ” The cheery voice is starting to grate on his nerves, but he suspects Snart is doing it for that purpose alone. “ _Just call me back when you’re done floundering by the stove!_ ” Mick rolls his eyes at that, muttering insults under his breath.

Wait.

Snart can see him? His movement stops from the realization. Slowly, he goes to the radio still on the floor where he had left it and picks it up.

“You can see me?” Mick demands, snarling.

“ _Hello to you, too. Yes. I’m just north of you, at Thorofare lookout._ ” Just great. Perfect. “ _You can’t see me? I’m waving._ ”

Mick sighs, and goes back to ignoring Snart. He’ll take a look later with his binoculars, after food. It isn’t anything fancy, just potato stew with a few spices he brought along. No meat, since it’ll just go bad in this heat. Nothing fancy, but filling enough.

“ _Are you done, yet? You’re certainly taking your time._ ”

“And you’re fuckin’ annoyin’.” Mick answers, mouth full.

“ _No one ever taught you not to talk with your mouth full?_ ”

“What do you want?” He asks, swallowing the last bite and already regretting the question.

“ _I’m getting you acquainted with the job. There’s a thing in the middle of your room, round with a map on it?_ ”

“Yeah?” Mick turns to it, raising an eyebrow even though Snart can’t see it.

“ _That’s the Osborne Fire Finder, invented in 1914 by W.B…._ ” Snart trails off, obviously trying to get Mick to finish his sentence.

“...”

“ _Guess!_ ”

“...Osborne?” Mick says dryly.

“ _You use this to spooooot…?_ ”

“...Fire?”

“ _You guessed it-, what the fuck?_ ”

“What?”

 _“West window, you see that, right?_ ”

Mick walks over to the window, confused. What exactly is he suppose to be seeing? There’s trees and the almost setting sun, and- Oh.

“Fireworks.”

“ _Yeah. Fucking idiots. You need to get down there. Fire hazard alert._ ”

“‘S that even my job?”

“ _Your job is whatever I tell you to do._ ” Wow, this guy sure is bossy. “ _And the closest ranger is two days away. So, get hopping, Mick._ ”

“Do I arrest them?” Mick asks, unsure of what the protocol is.

“ _No. Just. Tell them to knock it off and take the fireworks away. You might need a rope to get down the shale between you and the lake. There’s one in the supply box on the way, code is: 1-2-3-4._ ” Snart pauses, “ _It’s actually that for all of them_.”

“Secure.” Micks scoffs, but picks up his backpack, slinging it behind him.

“ _Easy to remember and surprisingly, no one thinks to guess it._ ”

Mick laughs a little at that, making his way down the tower. His body is still a bit sore from his two day hike, but stretching his muscles after the long sleep will be good for him. Besides, he’s always up for yelling at a few idiots stupid enough to light fireworks in a forest. Not that getting to see a giant fire will disappoint him.

He checks his map, making sure he’s heading the right way. Getting lost will just be inconvenient, not to mention, embarrassing. It only takes him a few minutes to get to the supply box and as promised, the rope is inside. It looks a little old, less sturdy than he likes. Better than nothing. Step one done, Mick continues on his way.

The shale slide is steeper than he first imagined, “That looks pretty steep.” He reports to Snart, peering down to the bottom. “I dunno about this.”

“ _Hm. I don’t remember it being that bad. It’s not even named._ ”

“Why don’t we call it ‘you’re gonna get me killed’.” Mick snips back, hooking his rope onto the hook beside it.

“ _Don’t be so scared, you’re a big boy, right?_ ”

“Fuck you.” He growls, then takes a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

The rope snaps half way down, Mick yelling out in panic. Thankfully, it isn’t too high that he breaks something, but it sure is painful for his back. He groans, rubbing at the bruise that he’s sure will appear and wishing he never listened to Snart. The radio crackles beside him, lucky that he hadn’t land on it.

“ _You’re not dead, are you?_ ” Snart asks, voice wary. Serves him right. Mick wonders what Snart will say if he just doesn’t answer for a bit. “ _Mick?_ ”

He gets up with a huff and another groan, picking the radio up. “ _Shit. Please tell me you’re okay._ ” It’s a little fun actually, messing with the other man. “ _Mick?_ ”

“I hate you.” Mick finally says after a few more rounds of Snart calling his name, but there’s a grin on his face.

“ _Oh thank god. I mean. You asshole._ ” But it’s too late, Mick knows how relieved Snart is. Still grinning, he continues on his way, with only mild discomfort from the fall.

It isn’t long until he reaches a meadow, perfect for pitching up a tent. The downside are the empty beer cans scattered around the area. He finds two backpacks, too, along with a campfire that’s still smoking. Mick reports all that to Snart, the other man groaning about idiots and how stupid some people are. The campfire, he stomps out completely, only slightly tempted to light it back up again. The cans are stuffed into his backpack, but Snart tells him to leave the other backpacks alone, not wanting to deal with complaints of harassment. Now all that’s left is the find the culprits.

Mick finds a bottle of whiskey, half full. Nice, good stuff too. The campers certainly don’t deserve it, he thinks, putting that into his backpack. The fireworks are there, right out in the open. Still no sign of anyone else, though. He heads towards the lake, starting to hear music from that direction.

The bra he stumbles upon has him grimacing, isn't that great. “There’s a bra.” He tells Snart, “And panties, too.” Actually, there's two pairs of them.

Snart laughs, “ _A nudie pyromaniac. Good luck._ ” Mick winces slightly at the pyromaniac comment, if only he knew.

“There’s two…”

“ _Two?_ ” Mick doesn’t like the amusement in Snart’s voice.

“Two naked ladies.” He confirms with a sigh. The music is getting louder, he must be close.

“ _Can you handle that?_ ” There’s a smile in there somewhere, full of sarcasm.

“Shut the fuck up.” Mick grumbles, stomping his way to the lake. He can handle it, he just prefers not to. “They’re in the lake.” There are two figures there, probably drunk, and a boombox off to the side at the shore.

“ _Skinny dipping?_ ”

“Yeah.”

“Is that a guy over there?” One of the girls says, just as Mick was about to say something else to Snart.

“ _Oh boy. Have fun with that._ ” Snart actually giggles, then goes quiet, presumably to let Mick do his job. Asshole.

Here goes. “Hey! Knock it off with the fireworks or you’re fucked!” Mick shouts, getting straight to the point. No use in starting off easy.

“Don’t threaten us!” The other girl shouts back, voice harsh and angry. “Yeah, who the hell are you, creep?” The first girl adds.

Really, if anyone’s the creep, it’s the ones currently naked in a lake. “He’s just one of those lonely guys who likes to boss people around.” Girl two answers back.

“Why do guys think it’s alright to stare at girls?” Girl one says, almost ignoring Mick.

“Why do idiots think it’s alright to light fireworks in the middle of the fuckin’ forest?” Mick shouts back at them and picks up their boombox.

“Whoa! Put that back!”

“You want it back?” Mick taunts, “Stop lightin’ fireworks.” It’s tempting to just chuck the thing into the lake, wanting to piss off the girls like they pissed him off.

“Fuck you! You creep!” Girl two yells back. “Yeah, fuck you!” The other pipes up.

And there it goes, splashing into the lake, the music cutting off abruptly. Pity.

“Oh my god!” They both screamed, “UGH. Let’s get out of here.” Yeah, pissing people off is fun. “Fuck you!” Girl two says one last time before they both swim behind a rock. Mick raises an eyebrow at that, because there’s no way they can swim to the opposite shore and the only way out will be towards him. He wonders how long it’s going to take them to realize that.

“ _How’d it go?_ ” Snart asks after a short moment.

“I hope they get hypothermia. Or get eaten by a bear. Or both.” Mick answers and turns away. Whatever, he’s got their fireworks, anyways.

“ _That good, huh?_ ”

“Shouldn’t be anymore trouble, boss.”

“ _Atta boy. Thanks for going down there._ ” It doesn’t sound sincere, but Mick pretends it is. What an asshole.

“Right. How do I get back now? No rope for the shale slide.”

“ _Go through Thunder Canyon._ ” Snart instructs, “ _No shale slides and relatively easy terrain._ ”

“Relatively?” Mick repeats warily, but follows the order with a quick check of his map.

Relatively easy was a lie. Mick isn’t scared of heights, but he really doesn’t enjoy having to walk across more than two wooden logs with death below him. The climbing is a pain, too, but it isn’t too hard. Still, relatively easy isn’t a good description for it. He tells Snart as much, who only laughs and tells him to suck it up. Again, asshole.

Snart turns out to be an easy conversationalist, likes to talk a little too much, but he still lets Mick cut in with comments once in awhile. They don’t share about themselves, cutting it off when it got too personal, either by Snart or Mick. When that happens, Snart tries to start a new conversation, usually with puns too horrible for Mick to ignore. Yeah, that’s a thing. Puns. Horrible ones. Ones Mick isn’t ever going to repeat for his own sanity.

Their conversation is helpful, Mick learning more about the area and that there was an incident involving Yellowstone burning down. How he would have loved to see that, not that he tells Snart. He knows can’t hide his pyromania forever, but he sure as hell can try to delay it. It helps that Snart doesn’t suspect a thing, who would?

Thunder booms in the distance as he goes through a cave, Snart commenting about how their job is going to get busier with the storm. Mick takes that to mean they’ll expect a few fires. He can’t wait.

There’s a guy pointing a flashlight at him when he exits the cave, but Mick leaves it. There’s hikers and campers all around, it’s summer and as long as they don’t attack Mick or light up fireworks, they’re cool.

The tower is a welcomed sight and Mick sighs with relief. As he gets closer, however, there’s a feeling of wrongness. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees his cooking pot lying outside at the bottom of the stairs. He picks it up, frowning, and heads upwards.

Mick curses when he sees the broken window, anger raising up. He storms into the tower room, growling at the mess and, great, his sheets are gone, too. “Someone fuckin’ broke in.” He tells Snart, pissed off and itching to burn something to calm it. He can’t, though, not out here. He can’t lose another job, he needs this.

“ _They what?_ ” Snart replies, voice serious for once. It almost sounds cold.

“Wreck the place, threw one of my cooking pots out the window, stole my fuckin’ sheets. Fuck!”

“ _Holy shit._ ” Snart says, then, “ _Or should I say sheet._ ”

Mick groans out loud, but the bad pun does help to quell his anger a bit. “Not the time.”

“ _Sorry, sorry._ ” There isn’t a hint of regret in Snart’s voice. “ _I’ll let the Service know what happened. Any idea who did it?_ ”

“I dunno, the girls at the lake? I _did_ throw their stereo into the lake.” Mick admits gruffly, picking up his things and putting them back to their rightful place.

Snart sighs, “ _I wish you hadn’t done that. Alright, I put in a call._ ”

“Will they catch whoever did it?”

“ _They’re not exactly Hawaii Five-o_.” Is that a show? Mick doesn’t watch much TV, but he thinks it's some sort of investigation show. That, or Snart's messing with him. “ _I_ _’ll have the rangers keep an eye out for two girls in the meantime. Best we can do._ ”

“Any chance I can get a gun out here?”

“ _Ha_ .” Snart laughs, “ _If you can find one. Good luck with that, though_.”

“Great. Should’ve brought my own.”

“ _As if they’d let you in if you had._ ”

“Ugh. I’m goin’ to bed. Without my sheets.” Mick grumbles and puts the radio to its charger.

“ _Goodnight, Mick! Sweet dreams of beating teenage girls up._ ” He hears from the radio as he lays down. His lips quirks up, even with the anger still boiling in him. Tomorrow. He’ll deal with it tomorrow, after possibly watching his stove’s flames for a few minutes.

* * *

**DAY 2**

“ _Rise and shine, Mick._ ”

Mick grumbles, turning away from the voice and blocking it out. Just a few more minutes.

“ _Wake up._ ”

Ugh.

“ _Waaaaake up, Miiiiick._ ”

Yeah, he’s up. Mick rubs the sleep from his eyes as Snart starts to chant his name. “ _Mick. Mick. Mick. Mick._ ” It only stops when he gets to his radio, “Fuckin’ stop.” He yawns out, voice scratchy and deep with sleep.

“ _Oh good. You’re awake._ ”

“Hng.”

“ _Me, too._ ” Snart says sarcastically, “ _Anyways. Job for you. Storm must’ve knocked out a telephone line somewhere, which means we’re cut off._ ”

“And you want me to what? Fix it?”

“ _You probably can’t. But what you can do is take a hike up to where the wires run through your area and report back if it’s down. Then I can let a ranger know where the problem is and have them get someone on it._ ”

“Great. Another hike. Where is it?”

“ _North. The cave you went through yesterday, just straight north after that._ ”

“Got it, boss.” Mick says. Might as well. He grabs a few power bars for the trip, planning a good meal when he gets back. He’s never taken so many hikes in such short amount of days. It’s...new. Not something he likes, but not something he overly minds.

His strange conversations with Snart continues, the man even putting in a few urban legends about the forest. Some of them were so absolutely ridiculous, Mick can’t help but laugh. It’s nice, this easy friendship in just a few hours, in just a day. They’re stuck here, just the two of them in the middle of nowhere. It feels like Snart’s the best friend he’s never had and isn’t that just cheesy. He scoffs and shakes his head at himself, but there’s a small smile on his face.

Mick sees the felled line in the middle of Snart’s explanation of how figure skating points systems work.

“Hey. Found the line. ‘S cut. And look, they left a note.” Mick interrupts Snart’s rambling and picks up a piece of clothing, giving it a look of derision. “On underwear. Says ‘Go to hell’. Beer cans too, must’ve been the girls.”

“ _How nice of them._ ” Snart drawls, “ _I’m guessing they cut the line?_ ”

“Looks like.”

“ _Great._ ” There’s a hint of annoyance in Snart’s voice, “ _Fucking idiots. This is how people die, do they not realize that? What if I need to report something urgent, or god forbid, there’s a fire?_ ”

“What do y’want me to do?” Mick asks helplessly, sensing the anger from Snart. The man is usually so cool and calm, even when he’s ranting. He’s still cool, of course, but it’s different. Very...chilling.

“ _Find them._ ”

“And?”

“ _...I don’t know. Nothing that comes to mind is legal._ ”

“C’mon, boss. I’m here at your service, whatever you want.” Mick surprises himself at how cheery he’s being. Maybe Snart is starting to rub off on him.

“ _I want you to scare them. Really scare them. Wreck their shit. Burn a few things. Let’s see how much they appreciate things burning if they like to light fireworks so much._ ”

Micks laughs, “You’re serious?”

“ _Maybe not about the burning, because that’s just more problems for us._ ” Pity, since that’ll definitely be something Mick will enjoy doing. “ _But please, if you see them or their things. Get your revenge. Steal their sheet._ ”

“You’re horrible.”

“ _Yes, I am._ ” At least Snart’s back to his old self, all sarcasm and drawled words.

Mick follows the trail of beer cans, picking up after them. Fireworks, littering, cutting up telephone wires, how did they even get up there? Seriously. These girls are the worst kind of people and Mick’s been to prison. That’s saying something.

The view here is nice, all the colors clashing into a beautiful scene of nature. There are reds and blues and greens everywhere. A splatter of white, a peek of yellow. It’s like a painting, except it moves and is apparently turning Mick into a hidden poet. But he dares anyone not to look across the high canyon and think some poetic thoughts.

Mick finds a backpack hanging in a dead tree along his path. Inside, there’s a camera, one of those cheaper single-use ones and a shit-ton of rope. Like, a shit-ton and they look a lot sturdier than the single one he had before.

“ _Looks like you hit the jackpot._ ” Snart comments when Mick tells him his discovery.

Mick smiles as he takes a quick picture with the camera. “Thanks, Jonas Hunter.”

“ _Wait, wait. Who?_ ” Snart asks.

“Jonas Hunter, was sewn into the bag.”

“ _Huh._ ” Mick frowns at the surprise in Snart’s voice.

“You know ‘im?”

“ _Yeah. Kind of. Just haven’t heard that name in a long time._ ”

“Yeah?” Mick encourages as he walks and continues to follow the path. There isn’t anymore beer cans to pick up, thank god, but he thinks he’s still going the right way.

“ _He was stationed where you are three years ago with his father, Rip. Good kid._ ”

“You can bring kids out here?”

“ _I_ _’m not exactly strict with the rules._ ” Snart admits, “ _And they took off halfway through the summer_.”

“Must’ve been your charm.”

“ _Yeah, it just didn’t work with twelve year olds, unfortunately._ ”

They go quiet after that, Mick making his way down some shale slides with his handy new ropes. Finding them really was a stroke of luck, he’d probably have to go the long way around if he hadn’t.

“ _You see that?_ ” Snart’s voice crackles through the radio as Mick arrives at the cave he first went through. He takes a look around, trying to spot something high that even Snart can see.

“The smoke?” It was thin, hard to notice against the bright sky, but he manages to make it out.

“ _Looks like it’s way down in the south west. You can cut through the meadow by the lake to get there. Kick their ass._ ”

“Got it, boss.” Mick smirks, heading towards that direction.

* * *

“ _So what made you take the job?_ ”

“Needed a job.”

“ _That’s it?_ ”

“Yeah. What about you?”

“ _Hm. Wouldn’t you like to know._ ”

* * *

 “So, the fire.”

“ _The one in Yellowstone? What about it?_ ”

“How big did it get?”

“ _It got pretty out of control, how big do you think?_ ”

“Must’ve been a sight.”

* * *

 When Mick finds the campsite, it’s already in pieces. The tent is torn up, clothes strewn everywhere and look, “I found my sheets.”

“ _Oh nice. Gonna steal theirs?_ ”

“A little too late. The place is in pieces, must’ve been a bear or somethin’?”

“ _Wait, it’s already wrecked? I’d say serve them right, but...they’re not hurt, are they?_ ”

“No sign of ‘em.” Mick ruffles through a few of things and finds a note taped to the destroyed tent. “Dear psycho.” He starts to read.

“ _What?_ ”

“I hope you’re fuckin’ happy. We’re leavin’ and we’re goin’ to find the police or whatever and tell them about how you creeped on us in the lake, and then came and destroyed our campsite and all of our stuff. Oh and stealin’ panties is gross out. You’re probably a mental fuckin’ axe murderer and are so going to jail.” Been there, done that. “I hope it was worth bein’ a jerk over some fireworks. Dick.” Mick finishes with a nod. “Lovely note they left me.”

“ _Wow, I knew you were an axe murderer!_ ” Snart snorts and laughs, “ _And you stole their panties? Mick Rory!_ ”

“I didn’t steal anything! They’re the ones that stole my sheets!” Mick keeps the note, just for future reference.

“ _Well, there’s no way for them to call the cops and weird stuff happens in the woods. Could be other people, or they were just drunk as fuck. Who knows. They’re gone and they ain’t coming back. We can just get back to work, alright?_ ”

“Yeah, alright.”

* * *

**DAY 3**

Mick finally starts to board up his broken window today, half talking with Snart as he does his task. He hammers in one more nail, but is still missing three more boards to cover it up completely. It isn’t his best work, then again, it’s not like he can get or find glass out here. It’s the best he can do on such a short notice and with such limited resources.

“ _Mick?_ ” Snart asks as he finds a good enough piece of wood by the outhouse. Mick hums in response, waiting.

“ _What do you look like?_ ”

“Why y’askin’?”

“ _Curious._ ”

“I look like a guy.”

“ _Really? I never would’ve guessed, we could be twins. I look like a guy, too!_ ” Mick pauses his hammering just to dramatically roll his eyes at Snart’s sassy tone. He hopes Snart can see that from his tower.

“I dunno? Tall, big?”

“ _That’s a start, I guess._ ” Snart sighs, “ _Let’s see. From what I can make out, you’re a white guy wearing pants. How can you even do that in this heat?_ ”

“I like it hot.” Mick defends, picking up another board and nailing it in.

“ _Do you wear anything else?_ ”

“Clothes?” Mick isn’t sure where Snart is trying to go with this.

Snart sighs again, longer this time. “ _Moving on. What about your face? If I’m sitting across from you, what do I see?_ ”

“Uh, shaved head, crooked nose. Scruff?”

“ _Okay, what about your eyes?_ ”

“What?”

“ _I’m drawing you, I need to know._ ”

“What?!”

“ _Is that not okay?_ ” Mick sputters for a second and Snart continues before he can say something. “ _Don’t answer it. I’m gonna do it anyways. Eyes?_ ”

“They’re brown?” Mick says helplessly, bewildered by this turn of events. At least he’s got his window finished.

“ _I mean, happy, cold, warm, tired, sleepy? I don’t exactly have crayons on me._ ”

“Angry.” Mick nods, definitely.

“ _Oh yeah? Hot and angry, got it._ ”

“Yeah. So what’s next? My window’s all done.”

“ _What do you mean what’s next?_ ”

“You’re the one who's been givin’ me orders, boss.”

Snart laughs, warm and happy. “ _What’s next is you actually doing your job. You know, sitting at the window till September and calling me at the first sign of smoke._ ”

“Oh. Right.” Mick mutters, a little disappointed. The excitement of the two days has him itching for more adventures, but that _is_ suppose to be his job.

* * *

**DAY 9**

“ _Hey, Mick. Having a good afternoon?_ ” It’s been awhile since he’s heard Snart’s voice.

“Yeah, ‘s not bad.” Mick answers, mouth full of sandwich.

“ _I come with bad news, unfortunately. Two young women were reported missing, got parents out in California that haven’t heard from them in a week. If they’re the ones from last week, then...you might be the one who’s seen them last._ ”

“I didn’t do anything!” If this becomes an investigation, they’re going to look closer into Mick’s record and that means they’ll know about his pyromania. He’d going to be put back into jail, he can’t have that happen!

“ _I know, I believe you._ ” Snart assures, “ _It...won’t be an issue, okay? If they turn up dead, then maybe. I’ll just not say anything, save us the trouble._ ”

“Okay, yeah.” Mick mumbles, relieved. He really doesn’t want to get wrap up in this bullshit.

“ _Right. Well, enjoy the sunset._ ”

* * *

**DAY 15**

It’s the middle of the night, but Mick hears Snart’s voice from the radio.

“ _I_ _t’s been good._ ”

“ _You’ve been safe? He’s still not out, right?_ ”

“ _Okay._ ”

“ _Sure. Good night, Lise._ ”

* * *

**DAY 33**

New food. More supplies. Only downside is that Mick needs to get himself over there to pick it up.

“Is it too much to ask for them to deliver it to the towers?”

“ _I get my stuff hand-delivered._ ” Snart brags, Mick imagining a smug smirk on his face.

“That ain’t fair.”

“ _Life usually isn’t. Perks of over ten years of service._ ”

“You let yourself be here for more than ten years?” Mick says with amusement.

“ _Shut up. Anyways, supplies are for a few other towers, too. So don’t take all of it. I don’t want to have to call for more._ ”

“What if I get hungry?”

“ _Mick…_ ”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mick checks his map, the supply drop on it circled a few times over. He thinks about asking Snart about the thing a few nights ago, but Mick himself isn’t sure if that was a dream or not.

When Mick arrives at the drop, he decides to go for it, curiousity eating at him. “So, who’s Lise?”

Snart takes a long moment to answer and when he does, his voice is cold and hard. “ _Why do you know that name?_ ”

Ah, a touchy subject then. Mick’s not going to push it. “You called me in the middle of the night, ‘s all. Nothing else to it, boss.”

Snart hums and doesn’t say anything else. Mick has a few guesses, girlfriend, maybe? Kid? Family? Snart’s a mystery despite all his endless talking. He’s one of those people who says a lot without giving a single thing about themselves up. Mick doesn’t mind it much, it gives them a distance he likes to keep.

“Alright. Got my stuff.” Mick reports, taking out his box of supplies and heading back to his lonely tower.

“ _Just yours, right?_ ”

“Who do you think I am?” If Snart knew about Mick’s history, that answer would be a lot different.

* * *

**DAY 64**

That night, Mick’s outside again, on top of his tower, just watching the light of the fire in the distance. It’s beautiful, captivating. It makes taking his job completely worth it. He wants to go over there, to where the flames are burning everything down in it’s path. If Mick thinks it’s beautiful all the way out here, it must be glorious out there.

“ _I_ _t might be the biggest fire of the year._ ” Snart’s voice interrupts his thoughts, snapping him out of his slight daze.

Mick shakes himself off before answering back, “Yeah. ‘S really goin’.” He hopes he manages to keep the awe out of his voice.

“ _Better call it in._ ” Mick feels a shot of disappoint from those words. “ _We’ll probably still be stuck with her for the rest of summer, though._ ” That makes him feel a little better, at least he has something to watch when he’s bored. " _Why don’t you give her a name?_ ”

“Me?”

“ _Yeah, I’ve named most of the others, I’ll give you a chance._ ”

Mick scratches his beard, it’s been growing out once he ran out of shaving cream. “Heatwave.”

“ _Heatwave?_ ” Snart laughs, “ _Strange, but okay._ ”

“You’re the one that asked.”

“ _Alright, big guy._ ” There’s a moment of silence, Mick starting to get lost in the fire again. “ _Hey. Mick._ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _Lise, uh, Lisa. She’s my sister._ ” Mick immediately pays attention, this is the first time Snart’s ever offered up information about himself. “ _She’s an ice skater. Good, too._ ”

Mick waits patiently for Snart to continue, “ _I’m here during the summer, but sometimes, we come during the winter._ ”

“Ain’t it closed?”

“ _Why do you think I’m not strict about rules?_ ” Mick laughs, Snart gets more and more surprising. “ _Anyways. We spend a few days here, sleeping in the tower and then ice skating at the lake if the ice is thick enough._ ” Snart sounds wistful, quiet and calm in the night.

“Sounds nice.”

“ _It was._ ”

The conversation stops there and Mick goes back to staring at the distant fire.

* * *

  **DAY 76**

“ _You’re not actually going to go fishing without a license?_ ”

“I’m sick of all this crap food.” Mick grumbles angrily, he’s very sick of fruits and vegetables and the only meat he’s gotten was jerky. He just wants something fresh and not out of a can.

“ _Suuuure._ ” Snart drawls out, a small laugh in his voice. “ _If you’re heading to the lake, mind keeping an eye out for bear tracks? Apparently there’s a problem bear wandering around._ ”

“You want me to fight a bear?”

“ _No! Just, let me know if it’s been there recently, alright?_ ” Mick likes making Snart laugh, it’s a nice sound, something he really can get used to.

He doesn’t find any bear tracks, but he does find a weird clipboard with… Mick’s eyes widens, brows furrowing as he reads over the words. It’s snippets of his and Snart’s conversations, some parts shortened, but...it’s there.

“Boss?”

“ _Find a bear?_ ”

“No, but. There’s a clipboard by the lake and it’s, well, it’s a lot of what we’ve been saying to each other.”

“ _What? That doesn’t make any sense._ ”

“‘Yeah, it just didn’t work with twelve year olds, unfortunately’.”

“ _What the fuck?_ ” There’s a strange sound coming from Mick’s left, his attention turning towards it. He tells Snart to hold up, going over to check it out. It’s a little worrying, but Mick’s a big guy who can take care of himself. If it’s aliens, though, he’s definitely running. Snart continues to talk, voice worried and alarmed.

A red radio sits on the ground a few feet from the lake, looking completely suspicious. Mick takes careful steps towards it, wary and on alert. The hit attempt for his head is expected, Mick ducking just in time to avoid it.

“Shit!” A male voice exclaims behind him. Mick swings his fist out, hoping to catch the guy, but he hits nothing. “Shit, fuck.” Mick hears again, farther away this time. He turns just in time to see a figure fleeing away from him. Mick shoots after the guy, growling. That asshole is going to get it and Mick’s going to make him regret his existence.

“Yeah, you better fuckin’ run!” Mick shouts after him, following as the two dodges through the trees. The forest is thick, easy to get lost and to lose someone. The guy makes it easy to keep track of with his panicked shouting, though.

“ _Mick?!_ ” Snart’s voice cuts through, Mick has almost forgotten that the man is still rambling on. It turns his attention away long enough for the other asshole to get away. Mick snarls in frustration, Snart still shouting his name. He sounds almost worried, actually.

“I’m here. Was chasin’ some asshole that tried to attack me.”

“ _Some guy tried to attack you? You’re okay, though?_ ”

“‘M fine.” Mick reassures, coming to a stop as he loses the other man completely. Next time Mick sees him, that asshole is a dead man. “What’s Wapiti Station?”

“ _What?_ ”

“Says on the clipboard ‘Wapiti Station’.”

“ _Uh, I think that’s the University ran research site. It’s north of you, check your map._ ” Mick checks it, finding the label. It’s a pretty big meadow, about the size of the lake. Not far, though.

“‘M gonna go check it out.”

“ _Be careful. Who’d you run into, anyways? Get a good look?_ ”

“Blond, white, British? He sounded British.”

“ _British?_ ” Snart’s voice is oddly flat, not in his usual way. “ _I’ll...call the Park Service. They keep a list of people coming in and out since, well, forever. See if any British people came through._ ”

“‘Kay.”

The site, it turns out, is surrounded by miles of chain-linked fence. At least, Mick guesses it’s miles. He can’t see the end of it, but it looks huge.

“Found the site.” He tells Snart, kicking lightly at the fence. It doesn’t look too tall, Mick can probably scale it easily. There’s also a gate there, but it’s locked and Mick doesn’t have a way to break it open.

“ _Is there anyone there?_ ”

“No, but I’m gonna climb it.” Mick nods, already half way up.

“ _Wait, Mick!_ ”

Mick pauses, brows furrowing. “What?”

“ _You should bring someone with you._ ”

“And who exactly can I bring with me?”

“ _There’s a few people doing a controlled burn, their camp is south of your tower, a little east of the old scout’s camp. It’s better than going alone, right?_ ”

“That’s all the way out on the other side, Snart! I can just jump this fence and get it over with.”

“ _Mick, please. We don’t know who or what’s out there._ ”

“Fine. We’ll do it your way, boss.” Mick sighs and hops off the fence, he was almost over, too. Time to take another hike.

* * *

 “So, you think they’re spyin’ on us?”

“ _I...I don’t know._ ”

“What about the other towers? You talk with ‘em, right?”

“ _They haven’t report back anything weird._ ”

“What about for yourself?”

“ _Nothing._ ”

* * *

 “ _So what exactly happened during that attack?_ ”

“Saw a red radio on the ground and this guy tried to knock me out.”

“ _Jesus._ ”

“The...radio. Do y’think that someone could be spyin’ on us with that?”

“ _I...don’t know if someone could even do that._ ”

“That ain’t a no.”

“ _Let’s not get too paranoid, just keep hiking._ ”

* * *

 “What if a controlled burn gets outta control?”

“ _Someone gets fired._ ”

“Ugh.”

* * *

 “Found a pond, more like a pile of mud.”

“ _Ah. Pork Pond. There used to be a sign, but people kept stealing it._ ”

* * *

 Mick finds the camp easily, but it turns out the firefighters are already gone. “Well, it looks like they’re already gone.”

“ _Ah._ ” Mick has a slight feeling Snart planned this.

“They left a note…” Mick scans over it, Dr. Palmer, squad boss Lance, Wapiti Station. “They’re runnin’ some sort of research at the station there.”

“ _Someone is running a research and writing down our conversations? What the hell is going on?_ ”

“Thought you might know, boss.”

“ _Fuck. At least we know something is definitely happening behind the fence._ ”

“Maybe ‘s just a coincidence?”

“ _Do you actually think that? I have a bad feeling about this, Mick…_ ”

Mick spots an axe buried slightly in a tree. He grins, taking and testing its weight. It’s small, but it’ll do finely. “Nice. Got an axe, can probably break through the gate instead of climbin’.”

“ _Fine. Check in and keep on alert. You might be followed._ ”

Mick only makes it to the pond before Snart speaks up again. “ _Mick. You said you heard something by the lake, right?_ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _So. Let’s assume you’re being followed, where are you right now?_ ”

“Pork pond, trees, in the middle of nowhere.”

“ _See anybody?_ ”

Mick makes a full body turn to check, “No.”

“ _Tell me what you think of this:_ ” There’s a slight static and then someone coughing painfully, a mutter of ‘fuck’, then it cuts off with more static.

“The hell?”

“ _That wasn’t either of us, right?_ ”

“No.”

“ _Fuck._ ”

“There’s no way someone from another lookout can hear our line, is there?” Mick asks, feeling more paranoid than he has in a long time. This is some fucked up prank if it’s someone from another lookout.

“ _Not without tapping into it._ ” Snart’s voice holds a bit of tension in it, maybe feeling just as paranoid as Mick is. " _Get to your tower, don’t let anyone in and don’t use your radio. I’ll call you. I will._ ”

* * *

  **DAY 77**

“ _Good morning, Mick!_ ”

“You’re awfully chipper.” Mick barely got any sleep last night, too stressed about someone stalking him.

“ _It’s a brand new day, a great time to celebrate!_ ”

“...”

“ _Anyways, I don’t think I’ve ever taught you about this poster you should have hanging up. Floral of the Shoshone?_ ”

Mick turns, spotting the poster tacked beside one of the windows. “...Yeah?”

“ _Have it good look at it! It’s very good information about all the trees and stuff around your area._ ”

Mick is slightly lost, “...Okay, it’s right there, I’m lookin’ at it?”

“ _You see the tree on the top row, second to the left?_ ” Cottonwood, looks bushy, green, like tree. Where the hell is Snart going with this?

“Yeah, it’s-”

“ _No, no! You don’t need to tell me!_ ” ...Alright, has Snart lost it? “ _You know where you should go for great hike?_ ”

“Uh.”

“ _There’s an area in your sector that’s called, that tree’s name, you should go there. Great view._ ”

Ohhhh. “I’ll get on it, boss.” Mick grins, Snart is a clever one, if a little strange. Cottonwood Creek, that’s south of him.

“ _1-2-3-4,_ _5-6-7-8._ ” Mick’s not quite sure what Snart means by that, but he’ll figure it out.

The creek is part of the controlled burn, the trees surrounding it brown and burnt. It’s not exactly a nice view to other people’s standards, but Mick appreciates the leftover destruction fire can cause. There’s a cache not far and, well, Mick can guess the code’s been changed. He finds a brand new radio inside, an ugly color of green, but who cares.

“Nice.”

“ _Fuck, Mick. I spent all day getting that to you, lied to so many rangers. Hopefully you’re now holding a clean untapped radio._ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _You have to get into that site, Mick._ ” Yeah, Mick’s planning on it.

“Sure thing, boss.”

“ _Fucking shit. I’ve been on this job on and off for thirteen years and nothing like this has ever happened._ ”

“I can’t believe this is even happenin’.”

“ _Me neither. Be careful, Mick. Take care of yourself, just...Don’t get hurt, alright?_ ” Mick’s a big guy, been in and out of prison, he’s sure he can take care of himself.

“Don’t worry, boss. I got this.”

“ _Yeah._ ” Snart sounds nervous, scared almost. “ _I just don’t wanna lose you. You’re my best friend._ ”

That’s...No one’s ever said that to Mick before. It makes his heart clench painfully. They’ve only known each for about two months and a half, but it really does feel like a lifetime. “You’re mine, too.” He whispers, quiet and like a secret.

* * *

 What Mick finds at the site sends a chill down his spine and anger boiling through his veins. “They’ve been monitorin’ us, writin’ reports, assessments, fuck!” He snarls, these people know about his pyromania, about his past. Like, like some sort of lab rat.

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Snart asks, voice angry. There’s a huge tent in the site, along with a few monitoring towers and beeping devices. Mick’s not sure what they do exactly, but he has a guess.

“Fuckin’ shit. They know about your sister and your-” Father. Mick doesn’t even know about Snart’s father. From what the reports say, it’s not pretty.

“ _Fuck! They know about-!_ ” Snart shouts and Mick winces.

“I should burn this shitty place down.” Mick growls, throwing papers and cans of food everywhere. “See how they like it when people mess with them.”

“ _No. Don’t._ ”

“We could just call it in, like a fire.” Mick finds some weird device and it starts beeping like crazy. It looks kind of like a receiver, can be useful in tracking these people down.

“ _Mick._ ”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“ _A firefighter dies trying to stop it. Okay, we can’t._ ”

Mick heaves a deep sigh, trying to push down his angry urge. Tonight, he’ll go stare at the giant fire for a few hours. That sounds nice.

“ _Mick. Just head back to your tower. We’ll figure something out tomorrow, okay?_ ”

“Yeah, boss.”

As Mick leaves through the gate, he spots a column of smoke, not the one from Heatwave. It’s...it’s burning and it’s beautiful and it’s so close. He can go back and touch it if he wants, all that heat and movement, eating away at everything around it. Absolutely glorious. The flames are getting bigger, crackling in a giant roar. Mick holds his breath, hands clenching around the metal of the gate.

“ _Mick? Are you back?_ ”

“It’s...so beautiful.” Mick says dazely back to Snart.

“ _What? Mick!_ ”

“The fire.”

“ _What fire? I told you not to set the site on fire!_ ” Mick didn’t, he’s pretty sure he didn’t, did he? “ _Mick?!_ ”

“God, you’re beautiful.” It’s getting closer to him, he can feel the heat in the air now.

“ _The fire? Are you fucking kidding me? Mick?! You’re a pyro? Fucking shit!_ ” Snart yells, “ _Mick! You have to get out of there. MICK! PLEASE! You promised to take care of yourself!_ ”

It takes Mick a few more minutes of Snart yelling his lungs out, but he does snap out of it. Shakily, he answers back, voice hoarse from the smoke. “Sorry, boss. I’m here now.” He rips his eyes away from the fire before he can get lost in it again, running from the area. It happened again, always again. He’s supposed to have this under control, but that’s just a lie he’s been telling himself.

“ _Mick. Please, tell me you’re okay._ ” Snart asks, his voice just as hoarse.

“I’m okay.” Mick answers, panting under his breath as he continues to just run. “I’m okay.” He says again, for himself and repeats it until he reaches his tower.

* * *

 “Boss? It’s beepin’.” Mick picks up the receiver he found at the site, glaring at it.

“ _What are you talking about?_ ”

“This wave receiver thing I found.”

“ _Maybe you should go follow it._ ” Ouch, Mick winces, so Snart is still angry about the fire. He’s already told Snart that he isn’t the one who started it, but he guess Snart’s more angry about the pyromania thing.

“Will do, boss.” Mick says helplessly. He doesn’t know how to fix this, he just wants his friend back.

He follows the beeping into a bush, which turns out to be some sort of rigged alarm and a backpack with a key marked ‘Cave 452’.

“ _Mick, that’s you, isn’t it?_ ”

“What?”

“ _Where are you?_ ”

“In the middle of the woods. I found an alarm and a key for a cave, I think it’s the one by the canyon?”

“ _So the man at your tower isn’t you?_ ”

“What.” Mick starts to run, if it’s British guy again, if he’s the one who’s been spying on them, Mick’s going to beat him to a pulp.

“ _He’s leaving._ ” Mick pumps his legs faster, hoping to catch the guy before he can get away. There’s no one at his tower when he arrives. He curses and just heads up the stairs. No one still, but there’s a device with headphones taped to his door.

“' _I should burn this shitty place down.’”_ His own voice says when he listens to the recording, it cuts off, then, “‘ _God, you’re beautiful.'  'The fire? Are you fucking kidding me? Mick?! You’re a pyro? Fucking shit!’”_

“There’s a recording. Of our conversation back at the site.” Mick tells Snart, “It made it sound like I started the fire. Fuck.” Mick slams his fist angrily into the door, wood creaking under it. He’s getting real sick of this, all this shit that's been happening.

“ _Jesus. We’ll get to the bottom of this, okay? Just sleep for now. You have the key to the cave, right? Maybe we’ll find something there, but tomorrow._ ”

* * *

  **DAY 78**

“ _I have some news._ ” Snart sounds tired, voice low and heavy with stress.

“Good or bad?”

“ _Both? I guess. Someone called in a tip about the fire at the site and told the service I know who started it._ ” That’s just great, Mick thinks bitterly, the whole world seems to be against him. He’s going to the cave today, no matter what Snart says. He’s going to put an end to all this bullshit that’s just been piling up against the two of them. “ _And. The girls that were missing? Turns out they just landed in jail for taking a drunken ride._ ”

“Serves ‘em right.”

“ _Yeah, so there’s that. I’m probably going to be questioned and then they’ll probably look closer into your record and find out about your...pyromania._ ” Mick grits his teeth, it was always going to come forward one way or another, he had just hoped it would be after this job.

With the two fires merging into an even bigger one, the air outside is thick with smoke. It’s a little hard to see and breath, but Mick gets through it to reach the cave. His radio won’t work inside and he tells Snart as much. The locked door is rusty and old, it takes Mick a few tries before the lock clicks and he can push the door open.

The cave is eerily quiet, such a contrast to the roaring fire outside, even if it’s from a distance. Mick swears he can hear his own heartbeat in the silence, which makes the door slamming behind him a surprise. It’s British guy, Mick can tell from his position. He growls, lunging for the door, but it’s locked again and no way to unlock it from this side. The guy steps back and runs. Fucking great. Mick shakes the door one last time for good measure. Asshole.

He really hopes there’s another exit or Mick’s going to live the rest of his life starving in here. There’s a long steep drop and a crack in the rock, like someone had put a piston into it at some point. It’s gone now and there’s no place he can hang a rope to get down. Farther in, is a pile of loose rocks, Mick manages to dislodge it with his handy axe. There’s another hole, a small shoe sitting halfway down. Mick frowns down at it, that’s weird.

Following the only path he can go, he eventually does make it out. Mick sighs a breath of relief and radios Snart. “Fuck.”

“ _What’d you find?_ ”

“Nothing yet, Brit closed the gate on me and I can’t go down the slide inside.”

“ _He what?_ ”

“Tried to trap me in, I guess. Found another way out.”

“ _F_ _uck._ ” Mick agrees with that sentiment.

“Know any place I can find some climbing equipment?”

“ _Uh, you might find something in one of the caches, but other than that, no._ ”

Mick gets lucky again, though. The world may be against him, but luck’s sure on his side. He finds a little fort in an alcove a little ways outside of the cave. It’s actually pretty neat, filled with a few books and pieces of paper. Huh.

“I think I found Jonas Hunter’s fort.”

“ _Jonas Hunter?_ ”

“Yeah. He’s got notes and plans, with banners and shit here.” And look, pistons. Mick grins, putting them away into his pack. That will help him go down the slide.

“ _Wow. I think I know who’s been following you._ ”

“Who?”

“ _It’s just a guess, but...British, white, blond? I think it’s Rip Hunter._ ” Which what?

“I thought he left with his kid?”

“ _Me too, but...first you find Jonas’ backpack, then his fort? It’s almost like-_ ”

“He’s been herding me here.”

“ _Exactly._ ” Shit, Mick thinks. Was the kid in on this, too? That’s fucked up. He can feel anger pushing forward again, teeth clenching. He’s going back to the cave and finally figuring this whole thing out. Rip wants him in there? Mick’s going to settle this once and for all, find out what’s down the slide.

* * *

 “Fuck.” Mick’s seen his fair share of dead bodies, but that’s. Rip _knows_ this is here, his own fucking _son_. Jonas’ body is crumpled up, dried from the three years, thin and missing a shoe. Did Rip want Mick to find this? That sick bastard.

Mick steps over the body carefully, grimacing. Poor kid. He makes a promise to give Rip a good punch in the face for Jonas, and then the rest will all be for forcing Mick into this fucked up game.

When Mick finally gets out of the cave and his radio is able to receive transmissions again, Snart is talking to himself, pretending to be Mick for some of the conversation.

“ _Why Mick, you’re a pyro? ‘Grrr. Yeah, boss.’ Thanks so much for telling me!”_

“...I don’t sound anything like that.”

“ _Oh!_ ” There’s a short scuffle. “ _You’re back!_ ”

“Yeah.” Mick knows how down he sounds, but he just saw a kid’s dead body.

“ _Are you okay? What’d you find?_ ”

Mick hesitates for a moment, does Snart really need to know? “It’s...Jonas.” Yeah, no more secrets. “I found his body.”

“ _What?_ ” Snart’s voice is quiet, disbelief clear.

“He must’ve fell or something. Down a cliff. His body’s at the bottom in the cave. And fuck. Do we call this in?” Mick shakes his head, body moving on its own to take himself back to the tower. He’s a little in shock, he was expecting a fight, not a dead kid.

“ _Fuck._ ” Fuck is right. Fuck this place, fuck this job. Fuck Rip Hunter. “ _His own kid. What the fuck._ ” Mick’s pretty messed up, but even he wouldn’t just leave his dead kid rotting inside a cave.

“Yeah.”

“ _We’re...We’re leaving tomorrow. They want to evac the area because of the fire. So just, head back._ ” Mick can do that.

“Yeah, boss.”

* * *

  **DAY 79**

They don’t talk until the next morning, Mick lost in his thoughts and staring at the fire. It’s hard to see pass all the smoke now, so there isn’t much to look at. He ends up not sleeping at all, anger and sadness coming in short spurts throughout the night. Mick wishes he can be with the fire, burn all his emotions away, free him from all of this.

“ _You all packed up?_ ” Snart finally speaks up, sounding like he hasn’t had a wink of sleep either.

“Just about.”

“ _You hear the plane? They say the fire’s 2% contained._ ” The conversation stays stubbornly away from everything happening.

“They’re pickin’ us up?”

“ _Yeah. At my lookout. Maybe I can finally meet you._ ” That makes Mick smiles a little, he’s looking forward to that, has been all summer.

“You never told me what yo-”

Beep. Beep.

Mick looks down at his hand, holding the strange receiver thing. “ _Was that…?_ ”

“Yeah, it’s beepin’ again.” Mick doesn’t want to go, he wants to just forget all this happened. “I’m just gonna ignore it.”

“ _Wait. What if...it tells us everything? Why he did all this?_ ”

“I don’t _want_ to fuckin’ know what went through his fucked up mind, alright?” Mick snarls. “You go, if you’re so fuckin’ curious!”

“ _...Okay. Give me the thing, I’ll go._ ”

“What? You’re serious?”

“ _Yeah, if you’re not. I just want to know why._ ” Snart says stubbornly and Mick realizes this man is an idiot.

“No.”

“ _What?_ ”

“You’re not fuckin’ goin’. I’m headin’ to your lookout and then we’re leavin’. That’s it. No more of this bullshit.”

“ _I just want to fucking know why, Mick. Get to the bottom of this._ ”

“‘S not worth it!”

“ _Maybe it is to me!_ ”

“What?”

“ _I’m the one...I’m the one who didn’t tell anyone about Jonas. If I had, maybe he wouldn’t be there, rotting in that damn cave!_ ”

“Snart-”

“ _Maybe you don’t care, this doesn’t have anything to do with you, anyways, but just. Let me do this, please!_ ”

Mick sighs heavily, as if he actually has a chance. “Fine. I’ll go. Fuckin’ get to the bottom of this.”

“ _No, just give me the thing, you don’t have to do this._ ”

“Shut up, boss.” Mick snarls, slamming his door open and stomping down the stairs. Fucking Snart.

“ _Mick! Wait, I want to come with you!_ ”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the lookout and helpin’ with the evac?”

“ _I can say I’m looking for you, put one of the firefighters here._ ”

“No. Just stay put. I’ll put an end to this.” He clicks the radio off, not wanting to argue anymore about this.

The beeps leads him to another recorded message, ‘MICK’ and a big arrow pointing up drawn on a rock. He listens to the recording, brows furrowing.

“ _Hello, Mr. Rory. I do hope you manage to find this before it burns up. We’ve been causing each other headaches for a long time now and thanks to you, I have to find a new site for living as nice as the one you’re about to find. You can’t blame me for doing this, not after I bumped into you by the cave when you first got here. I just thought… I’ve been here for the last three years, even past all the winters._

_“There are only so many books to read and then I got bored, rigged up something to listen into radios. Ha. Mr. Snart’s not someone you really want to know. He’s not as nice as he sounds. Possibly more of a criminal than you are._

_“I only stopped worrying about you two finding out about a week ago and that’s when everything went so bloody wrong. You don’t know what it’s like to have a kid. No one does! I didn’t kill him. Jonas. My boy. I would never-_

_“He fell. Didn’t put in his piston correctly and it just...I didn’t want it to happen. Nothing I could do._

_“I thought about going back, telling the truth. But how can I? My wife, she...I can’t face her. Don’t look for me. Sorry about...all of this._ ”

Mick really wants a few moments and few words with this idiot, but it sounds like Rip’s long gone. He looks up the shale slide in front of him, the last piece of the fucking puzzle. Maybe it’s better to leave some things unturned, let sleeping dogs lie and all. He clicks his radio back on, ready to report back to Snart.

“ _Mick? Mick, where are you?_ ” There’s coughing, “ _Mick? I’m...I’m at the cave."_

Fucking Snart. Mick runs, lungs pumping hard from the lack of oxygen in the air so heavy with smoke. “Fucking idiot! Don't move, I'm comin' to you!”

“ _Shit._ ” He hears the voice not only on the radio, but at a distance as well. His heart beats quickly, both in anticipation and from the length he just ran.

“Snart?” Mick calls out.

“Mick!” He turns to his right, spotting a figure just outside of the cave. He’s there, he’s really there. Snart’s taller than Mick first imagined, only maybe an inch or two shorter than Mick. His face, though, that’s something special. Blue eyes, sharp features, Snart honestly looks like he can be in a magazine, a fucking model, he’s that pretty. There’s a smirk on his face, smug and looking like it’s always there. It fits him so fucking well, matches the sass when he was just a voice on the radio.

Snart takes just as long to look at him while Mick slowly steps forward. “Hey you.” When Snart speaks, all quiet like that, Mick can hear the slight nasally tone that’s there. The words are a drawl, deep and as always, holding a sarcastic edge. It’s so familiar, but so new at the same time. It’s everything Mick’s ever wanted.

“Hey.” Mick replies, finally, after a few seconds. The smirk on Snart’s face gets bigger.

“You weren’t lying when you said you’re big.” Snart comments and Mick shrugs. “We better get going, before they stop making the rounds. Tell me what you found on the way.”

“Yeah, boss.” Mick grins, following Snart as the other man leads the way.

* * *

 “It was an accident.”

“Still. He should’ve... _told_ someone at least.”

“Said he can’t face his wife.”

“Fucking _asshole_.”

* * *

 “You didn’t go up there?”

“Didn’t wanna know.”

“What do you _think_ ’s up there?”

“Nothin’ important. Maybe some hermit’s house.”

“Kind of impressed that he was there for three years and no one noticed.”

* * *

 “What do you think’s next?”

“Dunno. ‘S your call, boss.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

 “Hey, Mick.” Snart says to him on the helicopter, squeezing their linked hands. Mick turns to him, taking his eyes off the fire. The sight from up here is beautiful, making it look huge and encompassing. “Thanks.”

Mick’s brows furrows, confused. “What for?”

Snart smiles, a real one, not the smirk Mick’s gotten used to in such a short time. “For everything. For...being here.” The man leans forward and presses a kiss to Mick’s cheek. It’s soft and careful, almost questioning. Mick turns, catching Snart’s lips before he can move away. Behind them, the fire roars and Mick gets lost in something different.

It feels like home.


End file.
